Briefly: iMessage and FaceTime facing second outage in less than a week [ux3]

For the second time in four days, Apple's iMessage and FaceTime services are down for many users in a number of areas, with North America seeming to be the hardest hit.

Update: Just as with the Oct. 25 outage, iMessage is now forwarding all communication through SMS texts.

Update 2: Apple has update its iCloud status webpage, which notes "some" users are experiencing trouble with the service and that an investigation is underway.

Update 3: As of 3:54 p.m. Pacific, all iCloud services, including iMessage, are online.

AppleInsider has been receiving reports of the seemingly widespread outage, and was able to independently confirm that Apple's messaging service is indeed non-functional.

According to Apple's iCloud status webpage, all systems and services are online, however multiple posts on Twitter tell a different story.

It is unclear what exactly caused the outage, but some have speculated that it is related to Hurricane Sandy. The Oct. 25 down time was never fully explained, though services resumed within a few hours.

Apple's iMessage woes appear to be an almost monthly occurrence as of late, with the last system troubles dating back to mid-September.